FLOWER GIRL

Age Range: 3 - 6

A little girl is thrilled to be a flower girl in her aunt Penny’s wedding.

There are so many things she’ll get to do. She’ll have fancy shoes, a bouquet and flowers in her hair, and, best of all, she’ll wear a lovely white dress just like the bride’s. On the day of the wedding, she’s nervous, but she reassures the ring bearer with a somewhat unappreciated good-luck kiss. Everything goes smoothly, and there’s dancing and cake too. Bottner’s slight, lighter-than-air tale, written in the simple first-person voice of the tiny heroine, takes its cue from the perennial obsession with weddings, princesses and the like. Grier’s wedding-album photos neatly capture every moment of this little girl’s special day. It’s all very sweet and charming, and young girls who read it will probably sigh and wish for their own chance to be in a wedding. But there might be some uncomfortable caveats for the adults sharing it with them. It seems staged and contrived and too darn cute. The narrator has no name, although the bride, groom (this is a "traditional" wedding all the way) and ring bearer are all named. At the end, her only wish for happiness is to be a bride someday.

A dream come true for little girls who love to dress up, but more than a bit too syrupy for some. (Picture book. 3-6)